The Last Missing Piece to the Riddle
by princesspay10
Summary: Hermione Granger has always been different. When the Dark Mark suddenly appears on her arm, she finds herself belonging to a family that goes against everything she knows... and she is definitely not happy about it.
1. The Dark Mark

Hermione Granger knew she was different; just not to what extent.

There was the Sorting Ceremony, for one. She remembered that day, better than any others. It had been one of the most embarrassing days of her life. When all of the first years came into the castle for the first time, everyone was amazed and nervous. Everything was described perfectly in _Hogwarts, A History, _so she knew what to expect and was overly confident that she would get Sorted into Gryffindor or Ravenclaw (her top two favorite houses). When Professor McGonagall took out the Sorting Hat everyone was afraid to put it on. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to go first because of her last name starting with a G. She could show all of the other students that they shouldn't be scared, if she went first.

She would have bet money that she was the only student who knew what to expect. And of course all the children before her walked slowly up to the hat and trembled when it was placed on their heads. The first child Abbott, Hannah looked like she was going to throw up; she was Sorted into Hufflepuff, much to Hermione's distaste.

Hermione tapped her foot impatiently for several minutes. The Sorting went rather slow and she got so excited when Professor McGonagall called Granger, Hermione from her clipboard.

Hermione strutted with confidence as she walked up to the Sorting Hat, and all the other students watched her with skeptical eyes. She had an aura of power about her, and most of them felt intimidated. She grinned at their watchful eyes; she liked being the boss of other people and hoped to lecture them about how they should start reading more often to gain important knowledge for things they might need in the future. After all, she was the superior one at this moment for reading a delightful novel; all of the students could read, so it shouldn't be too hard for them to get smarter and be entertained at the same time.

Hermione remembered McGonagall telling her to take a seat on the stool and placing the tattered old Sorting Hat on her curly brown hair. She was so excited, and nearly fell of the stool in anticipation when the hat had begun to speak to her:

"Hermione Granger… A mind and intelligence set for Ravenclaw, but perhaps you may not do exceedingly well… You are brave like Noble Gryffindor. Yes I think that house will do you well. Yes- No Slytherin. You are pure and ambitious, cunning, sneaky, yes Salazar would be proud. No- Alas I have never had this hard of a decision. Perhaps you should be in…" The Hat couldn't make up its mind.

The Hat contemplated for thirty minutes before all of the students started getting antsy. The Professors tried to calm the impatient first years down, but even the children second year and above were starting to talk amongst themselves and they all wanted the feast to start already. Hermione was getting worried; according to _Hogwarts, A History_ the longest Sorting for a single student took around fifteen minutes, and she was way past that point.

After several more minutes, some seventh year Slytherin students started laughing and making fun of her. Soon the rest of the houses started to join in, until everyone (including some first years) was laughing their heads off. Hermione started crying; why couldn't she get Sorted into a House already? Basically, all the Hat had to do was choose between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw; she didn't care which. She didn't know why it even considered Slytherin; it only took Halfbloods and up, and she was a Muggle-Born wizard. Hermione started crying, and tried to wish herself away from The Great Hall. Anywhere was better than there at that moment.

The Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, noticed her distress. He patted her shoulder and nodded his head to follow him. He escorted Hermione out of The Great Hall and up into his private office. She tried to dry her tears, but her cheeks were still red and tear stained.

"I'll talk to the Hat, don't worry. Which House do you want to be in? I'll see if I can make that happen," Dumbledore said kindly, his blue eyes twinkling in curiosity about this new student at Hogwarts. She was a special one.

"Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, I suppose. Either one is fine," Hermione said with a weak smile. She was about to start crying, again. What if she never got Sorted?

After a long conversation with the Hat, Dumbledore told Hermione that the Hat had finally decided to put her in Gryffindor; she knew he was actually persuading the hat to put her in that House, Gryffindor was his House after all.

Then, in second year, something truly messed up happened. She never told anyone about this, in fear of being labeled an even bigger freak than she already was; Harry was having enough problems with this as it was, and people were starting to get scared around him. Harry claimed he could hear voices around the school; so could Hermione. It had begun to scare her relentlessly every night. She thought someone was playing a really cruel joke on her. She almost went to the Headmaster about it, but later, she was thankful she kept it to herself. It wasn't until Harry and Draco Malfoy's duel that she really figured out everything.

Draco had summoned a snake, and Harry started talking to it. Everyone thought he was a freak and was looking at him in horror; everyone except for her at least. Why was everyone acting strange? He basically told the snake to back off and go away. What was the harm in that? Even Snape stared at Harry in disbelief. Everyone seemed off their rocker that day anyways, so she completely dismissed it from her mind. She never aspired to find out what the other students were thinking; all of them were crazy and needed some more brain cells.

When Harry, Ron, and her went back to the Common Room everyone ran away into the safety of their dormitories. Harry had no idea what was going on; neither had Hermione. Ron exploded saying that Harry was speaking Parseltongue, Salazar Slytherin and You Know Who's language. Harry was probably the Heir of Slytherin; that's why everyone was staying away from him. But, if she could hear and understand what Harry was saying that must have meant that she could speak Parseltongue, too. She suddenly began to get scared. What if she was the Heir of Slytherin? Wouldn't she know if she was attacking Muggle-Borns at school? How could she possibly be able to talk in the snake language when she was a Muggle- Born? Speaking Parseltongue came from Slytherin's bloodline; she wasn't related to him. Very few others, who had been dead for centuries, acquired that gift. Now it would be exceedingly rare to get passed down, if the gene had even survived that long. No one could have passed it down to her though.

Hermione was scared and, decided to pretend to be clueless like everyone else. She couldn't tell Dumbledore; it was just too big of a secret. Harry would be the best person to confide in, but he would just tell her to go to Dumbledore, and she just had the feeling that she shouldn't be telling him anything like that about her. Ron and everyone else would just think of her like a freak of nature. At least Harry had some reason to have that gift; he could have took some of it from Voldemort when he tried to kill Harry as a baby or gotten it from his father, who was a Pureblood wizard. Hermione… Well Hermione had no one. Her parents were as Muggle as a Muggle could get; definitely no magic blood in their family. Soon after summer break she forgot about the whole Parseltongue debacle, and just tried to focus on her studies.

In third year she decided to take way more classes than necessary. She signed up for everything and, was specially invited to take Occlumency and Legilimency (which she signed up for also). Everything was going great; sure she was stressed out, but she thought it would all be worth it in the end. The crazy thing was that she mastered Occlumency and Legilimency within a week. She could read people's minds and shield her own far better than skilled wizards who had been practicing for decades. The teacher was very impressed and alerted Dumbledore that she was ready to take her O.W.L.S as soon as possible. Hermione Granger was the only student to ever master two classes within a week, and the youngest student ever to take their O.W.L.S for two subjects. Luckily she got both Outstandings on them. That was certainly a day to remember.

Every Professor was impressed and congratulated her on her accomplishments; even Snape muttered a good job, much to Hermione's astonishment. The only person, who didn't say anything, was Dumbledore. Hermione assumed he didn't say anything because he was the Headmaster and could not play favorites with his students. I reality, Dumbledore was starting to get suspicious about her. He had heard rumors and he started to monitor her to see if it was true. He never found anything about her, though. He assumed she wasn't the person he was trying to look for, after all. After a long day of happiness and being congratulated, she retreated back to the dormitories to hopefully get some rest.

Rest? Yeah right. The Gryffindors hung a big picture of her on the wall and threw a rockin' good party in honor of her success. It was quite fun actually; Hermione wasn't the type of person to enjoy herself at parties. She even decided to be daring and try Ogden's Old Firewhiskey; something she would not ordinarily do. Towards the end of the party she suddenly came to her senses. What was going on with her? Why were her morals getting washed down the toilet? Hermione had vowed she wouldn't drink that until seventh year at the soonest. She was already drinking alcohol at thirteen years old for crying out loud!

She had really begun to question herself and her sanity. Why did weird things happen to her? Why was she suddenly getting the urge to break all of these rules? Eventually, she broke down and let her tears fall on Harry who tried to comfort her, the best that he could. She cried about everything that happened at the Sorting Ceremony first year and how she was starting to lose her mind this year. Harry understood what she was going through and let her lean on him. Hermione was careful not to mention anything about second year, where she could speak and understand Parseltongue. She suddenly remembered it, again.

Eventually, things started to get better forth year; for her at least. Nothing bad had happened to her, or anything odd like the previous years at Hogwarts. She was sad when Cedric Diggory died at the hands of Lord Voldemort and cried her heart out with the rest of the school. Things hadn't been fair for him, but at least they were getting better for her. Which as soon as she thought that she mentally scolded herself for disrespecting a boy who should not have died the way he did.

Hermione was just excited to get rid of fourth year and start fifth. She wanted to take the rest of the O.W.L.S. as soon as possible and start working ahead on the homework and notes. She had already read all of her textbooks three times and started working on the fourth time rereading them. Most of all she wanted to read and study in the library to her heart's content. Wizarding books entertained her much more than the one's at the Muggle library. She was so, excited that she was going back to Hogwarts the next morning; she had been packed for weeks waiting for the special day marked on her calendar.

O.o.O

_3 months into the start of fifth year_

"This may be a good book for you Mione," Ron said shyly. "I know you have been looking for something new to read. It's apparently about _Secrets and Riddles During the Dark Ages of Voldemort._"

Hermione smirked. Ron had only read the cover of the book. So typical for him; he needed to stop drinking and partying in his spare time. It was really killing his brain cells; that and never having any intelligence to begin with. Ron looked sheepish and willed her to accept the book. She knew he was only trying to help. She had finished all of the homework for the rest of the year and was bored all the time. For some reason, she never felt like going to the library. She could not find anything that interested her; everything that was cool was in the Restricted Section. She had read almost every single book that was open to all students without a teacher's permission.

"Thanks Ron, but I've never seen this book before. I have searched the library countless times for something new. Where did you find it?" Hermione grabbed the book from Ron's hands and looked at him skeptically.

"Erm… Well Dumbledore left it on a desk in Divination, when he was monitoring the class because you know Trelawnley is going to get sacked by Umbridge if he doesn't do anything about it. I was going to return it to him, honestly. But, then I found you in here, and I know you wanted something new and exciting to read. If Dumbledore likes it, you are bound to like it, too." Ron said and smiled.

"Well, thank you Ron. I really appreciate you trying to help me. Although, you are a Prefect Ronald, and you should not steal from a teacher; Professor Dumbledore, no less. He probably needs that book for something concerning Voldemort. Yes Ron, I said Voldemort. You really need to grow up," Hermione scolded.

"I think I hear Harry calling… err, something for the club meeting…" Ron said and ran off to the boy's dormitories, not wanting to hear another one of Hermione's boring lectures about how he should be more responsible and follow the rules.

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. It was nice of Ron to help her out, but things were different between the three of them now. Ron was acting weird around her; he was always so clumsy and looked like he was embarrassed or something. He would always run off to Harry and have 'secret club meetings' as Harry liked to put it. They never let her join in on the 'secret club meetings' and, she felt like this was tearing their friendship apart. Apparently, Ron needed 'guy advice' and she wasn't allowed to know what that meant. She tried to pester them to tell her, but they always ignored her. She had begun to only talk to Harry once in a while and this was the first time she had spoken to Ron in a month.

Hermione decided not to dwell on the end of her friendship with the boys; it brought back too many memories, and she did not want to be reminded of all the good times they had had together. She flopped down on her favorite squishy arm chair in the Gryffindor Common Room and flipped through the Table of Contents to see what the chapters were about. After all, if Dumbledore thought it wasn't safe for students he wouldn't have brought it to a classroom full of them. So far, it seemed like it was going to be an interesting book. As she scrolled down the list of chapter names she saw one that was circled in red ink called _The Lost Riddle_. Her curiosity got the best of her and she flipped to that chapter. Obviously, someone (most likely Dumbledore) circled it for a reason. The chapter was very short; not even a full page (more like a paragraph), but, it must have been significant enough that the author had to include it in there. It read:

_Sights were reported on the night of James and Lily Potter's death, Tom Riddle's favorite female Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange was seen smuggling a young girl who looked to be nearly the age of two. A captured Death Eater, who was close to Voldemort and his mistress, confirmed they did have a young daughter. She was their most prized possession, and only a few close Death Eaters even knew that he had a daughter, much less ever saw her. The baby disappeared on that night and was never seen again. No one knows if it was their daughter. The girl could have been a figment of an elderly wizard's imagination or another Death Eater child that they were trying to hide._

Hermione stared at the page for a long time. Did Voldemort really have a kid, and was Dumbledore looking for her? The girl must have been Hermione's age. She wondered whether this girl was still alive and went to Hogwarts. She could possibly know this girl. Who was it? Perhaps, it was one of the Slytherin girls.

Of course Hermione did the only Hermione-like way of figuring things out. She was going to go spy on them and try to give information to Dumbledore, if she found anything out.

O.o.O

Hermione wanted to begin her search for the lost Riddle girl immediately. She went down to the dungeons, in hope of seeing a Slytherin girl that was a fifth or sixth year (the Riddle girl could possibly be in the year ahead, if she was two years old).

When she heard footsteps, she retreated back behind an old statue and, held her breath. She peaked out from the corner and didn't see anyone there. She stopped holding her breath and muttered how that was a very close call for being able to hide in time.

"Granger, what the hell are you doing?" Draco Malfoy said to her from the side where she hadn't looked at. Hermione jumped and squeaked.

She was so shocked, that she just stared at him with an open mouth, not able to utter a single word.

"Are you deaf, Granger? I said what are you doing? You aren't spying on us Slytherins, are you? That would be a very unwise decision, and I'm surprised Potty and Weasel put you up to it. Isn't this a man's job?" Draco said amused at Hermione's reaction.

"For your information, Malfoy, I am not deaf. I also don't have to tell you anything I was doing or was going to do so, you can just-" Hermione screamed then collapsed onto the floor.

"Draco, please stop! It hurts! I, I will never come down here again! Just, please you're hurting me!" Hermione screamed and started sobbing.

"I, I'm not doing anything…" Draco said starting to get scared. What was going on with Hermione? If she was getting possessed or something he did not want to be anywhere near her.

"My arm it, it's on fire!" Hermione shouted. Tears fell down her rosy cheeks.

Draco looked at Hermione's arm and almost literally pooped his pants, "Oh, my freakin' Merlin!"

Hermione had a Dark Mark on her arm, and someone was calling for her.


	2. The Dark Princess

Voldemort sat in his private office in Riddle Manor. He was looking at a photograph of the young baby he had lost so many years before. She was a sweet innocent looking child with blue eyes and dark silky brown hair, resembling himself when he wasn't under a Glamour Charm. He had no idea what had happened to her or if she was even alive. She was a smart child, who would have remembered her family; she could talk in full sentences and knew her parents real names by ten months old. Maybe she just couldn't find them. He had been hiding in Albania for the past 13 years, until Wormtail found him, and her mother had been in Azkaban up until the last week. Maybe she had died or maybe she was right under his nose, since Bellatrix had put a Glamour Charm on her right before she was captured by the Aurors.

There was a knock on the door, and he flicked his wand. The door opened abruptly to reveal a crying Bellatrix Lestrange. Tom Riddle stood up and walked over to her. He caressed her cheek and wiped away a stray tear.

"It's ok, love," He said soothingly. He wrapped his arms around her waist and stroked her long ebony hair. He watched as her gaze flitted to the picture of their daughter, and she sobbed even harder.

"What did they do with my baby, Tom? Every Death Eater who has been searching for her hasn't found anything yet. I just don't know what they did with her… when Kingsley Shacklebolt ripped her out of my arms before… before going to that horrible prison I… I thought I was going to die. To think that we will never know what happened to her… I just want her back! Dumbledore better have not gotten ahold of her. Avery said he Obliviated Kingsley, but was captured by the Aurors before he got Lizzie back." Tears fell like waterfalls from her dark eyes.

"Bella, we will find her. I will raze every town until we find her. No one steals my daughter and lives to tell the tale. Kingsley will be very sorry he ever took her away from us." Voldemort said. He rubbed her back and held onto her tighter. Bellatrix nodded and laid her head down on his shoulder.

"My Lord!" Lucius Malfoy ran into Voldemort's study. He looked around at the scene in front of him. "I'm sorry to interrupt but, we have urgent news. The weapon is in the Department of Mysteries and, now all we need is to Imperius a few Unspeakables to lead us to it."

"Thank you, Lucius, but, as you know we are in the middle of mourning the loss of our daughter. Please come back at a reasonable time. We wouldn't want Nagini to accidentally bite something, would we, now?" Voldemort replied. The great big snake slithered around Bellatrix and him and hissed at Lucius.

"Of course, my Lord but, need I remind you that your daughter's sixteenth birthday would be today. Did you not cast a spell that would give her an automatic Dark Mark when she became sixteen?" Lucius said, only trying to help. "I suppose you know that that means you can personally check up on her and summon her, if she is still alive."

"Oh, Lucius you are the best!" Bellatrix said and ran up to him. "I forgot about that. Tom you should try to summon her right now! I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but what if she is alive?"

"Of course, Bella," Voldemort said a little annoyed that Lucius was the one to bring that up. He pressed his wand to his forearm, and the picture of the Dark Mark rippled. All they could do was wait and see if they got any response from their long lost daughter.

O.o.O

"Draco, what's wrong, is it bad? Please go get Madam Pomfrey. It hurts so much! I, I don't know what's happening! Hurry please, I could be dying! Oh, Merlin, please I know you don't care about me, but you don't want someone to die at your hands do you?" Hermione said sobbing. Her face was red and puffy. Her eyes just kept leaking tears.

The shock depleted from his face momentarily. "I can't take you to Madam Pomfrey, I just can't. I know what to do though. This always happens on your first calling, and the pain will slowly kill you if you don't know what is going on or don't go. I can fix the pain, so just give me your arm."

"Draco, what the hell are you talking about? Just take me to Madam Pomfrey now! You are not someone I would trust to heal anything, and you are darn right I don't know what is going on. Once you take me to Madam Pomfrey you had better explain yourself, Malfoy!" Hermione screamed; her chocolate brown eyes were full of worry and confusion.

"Liz-Hermione just give me your arm. Come on, give it to me. I can fix it, you know. Seriously, this isn't something I was joking about. The 'thing' that is happening with your arm will kill you slowly if you don't listen to me. I am not going to take you to Madam Pomfrey, so you better start listening to me if you want to live," Draco said and smirked at Hermione, who was trying to cry silently, and was being stubborn.

"I- I can't even move it… Tell me what's going on. I'm scared. Go get Harry or tell someone to go get Madam Pomfrey, if you do not want to do it. Please, I don't want to die. Not when it can be fixed," Hermione pleaded.

"Yes it can be fixed, but I'm not getting Potter or anyone else," Draco said and snatched Hermione's arm.

She tried to pull her arm away, but the pain was blinding. Hermione's eyes faltered and she started to pass out. It felt like the world was spinning and slowly started to fade away and become out of focus. Draco pressed his cold wand to her arm and muttered something, but she couldn't hear what it was. The pain instantly stopped. She heard Draco say something to the nature of 'oh, sorry I forgot but, happy birthday Lizzie' before she felt like she was floating away into oblivion.

O.o.O

When Draco and Hermione Apparated by using the Dark Mark, Hermione collapsed on top of Draco; her weight took him by surprise and knocked him over. She hovered on the line between consciousness and oblivion; her eyes faded in and out of reality. Draco rolled her onto the floor so he could get up.

"Merlin, it's Hermione Granger," Lucius whispered.

Bellatrix squealed and tried to run over to Hermione, but Voldemort stopped her. "Bella be calm we must be sure that this is Elizabeth first." He used a nonverbal charm to reveal Hermione's true appearance. Her light frizzy brown hair turned a dark chocolate brown. The frizz turned into silky, loose ringlet curls and her hair grew to her lower back. Hermione's eyes became a startling blue aquamarine color and her pink lips became fuller.

"My lord, shall we take her wand? She was Harry Potter's right hand girl until a few seconds ago," Lucius said.

"What did you just say Lucius?" Voldemort said, his red eyes narrowing.

"Elizabeth was Hermione Granger, Harry Potter's best friend. She is the smart bookworm Mudblood girl that I always used to complain about. She's the girl who punched me in third year when I tried to get Hagrid fired by saying he brought a dangerous Hippogriff into class when it kicked my arm. I never would have thought that that would be Lizzie though. She also passed Occlumency and Legilimency already, so I don't know if you will be able to get her to talk. I'm sorry I was mean to her, but Harry Potter brings out the worst in everyone apparently," Draco said trying to defend his father.

"I see. This will be interesting. Take her wand, Draco, just until we know that she has been gathering information from Potter for us." The Dark Lord said to him.

Draco snatched her wand from the pocket of her robes. He couldn't quite understand why Lord Voldemort would think his daughter would be putting up a façade in front of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. She seemed to genuinely care for them; at least they had been inseparable until the past year. Apparently, Ron was trying to get dating advice from Harry (who had no experience what so ever except for Cho Chang, and she didn't really count) to date Hermione. _Silly fool_, Draco thought, _he has no chance what so ever now_.

O.o.O

Hermione woke up from a deep, dreamless sleep. She was startled to find she wasn't in her crimson bed in the Gryffindor girl's dormitory, but in a huge four poster bed that was an aquamarine color. The curtains were closed on the bed and, she pondered about how soft and comfy it was. The sheets were silk and the silk comforter was filled with delicate swirly embroidery and purple gems of some kind. She rationalized that she must be dreaming, maybe a very realistic one but a dream none the less.

She heard voices coming from somewhere and decided to check it out; after all she could not get hurt in a dream. Hermione opened the curtains and peered around the room. The walls were a deep purple with swirly aquamarine designs on it; almost like the embroidery pattern on the bed. EVER was written in large letters on one of the walls. _Ever swirls?_ Hermione didn't know what it meant. A large mahogany dresser stood on one side of the wall and a mahogany working desk, with her lap top on it, was next to it. There was a comfy looking aquamarine couch with deep purple pillows in front of a large mahogany entertainment center with a 52 inch flat screen T.V. and several different gaming systems. A large mahogany shelf held hundreds of different movies and video games. There was an aquamarine refrigerator filled with all kinds of food and drinks (although Hermione didn't know if it was full or not because she hadn't opened it yet).

The voices were coming out from the hallway in front of her room so, Hermione got up off the bed slowly. She was wearing a white long sleeved night gown and her legs and hands looked extremely pale; although it was probably just a trick of the light because the lights were dimmed in the room.

The marble flooring was cold under her bare feet as she walked to the first door she found. Much to her dismay, it did not lead her to where the voices were, only to a bathroom; one of the most luxurious bathrooms she had ever seen. It made the Prefect and Head bathroom at Hogwarts look small and rundown. The bath tub was five times the size; fifty people would fit comfortably in it. There were thousands of different options of different body soaps, shampoos, conditioners, shaving creams, lotions, and bubble bath soaps. There had to be at least a half a million knobs of different scents. A large linen closet expanded from wall to wall. Hermione's curiosity got the best of her and, she opened the closet door. A whole self was full of different perfumes; each scent was something she liked or thought it would smell pleasant if she were to wear it. There were several dozen bottles of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion on the shelves and, she didn't know if she was dreaming or not. Everything in the closet was filled with beauty supplies and stuff that she would use. It didn't feel like she was dreaming but everything was made for her. There wasn't anything she didn't love in either the bedroom or bathroom; it was too surreal.

She found a hair tie and was going to put her hair in a ponytail when she noticed it was way longer than it was before and, she had silky curls instead of frizzy waves. Hermione ran to the mirror. She screamed as loud as she could when she saw her reflection. Her hair was a dark chocolatey brown and her eyes were as blue as the sheets on her bed. Her skin was flawless and elegantly pale. Her features had become more aristocratic and her lips had grown plumper and redder. What had happened to her? Was whatever wrong with her arm so severe that her features had to change?

She pinched her arm several times before fear began to well in her chest. She was not dreaming; she wouldn't feel slight pain when she pinched herself if it was a dream.

Hermione ran out of the bathroom and fumbled around to find her wand. She looked everywhere, but it was nowhere to be found. She thought she had left it in her robe, but her robe and school clothes were not anywhere in the room. She opened a second door that led to a closet filled with extremely expensive clothes for a girl about her size. Hermione didn't notice, however, she was just too busy trying to search for her school robes among all the other things.

Someone had taken her to this place and disarmed her, so she assumed she must have been kidnapped. She decided to find a new outfit in the closet, since her night gown looked incredibly old fashioned, and if someone had kidnapped her they were going to kill her anyways; there was no harm in taking one outfit from someone else's closet if the person who owned it gave you access to it and would get it back by vulgar means anyways. Hermione put on a pair of black skinny jeans and an elegant dark purple sweater that made the color of her eyes pop. She didn't notice the Dark Mark that was permanently etched into her arm when she was changing.

As she was just going to turn on the television she heard footsteps coming from the outside of the door she had not opened. Her heart started beating rapidly and she silently prayed to herself that it would be Harry, Ron, or someone else she knew and trusted. Maybe she was put in a rehabilitation center, since obviously she had to have some kind of life changing procedure. The door knob turned, and she held her breath.

The person who came in the door was not the person she expected to see at all, but it could have been a person that was one hundred times worse (not that she was glad to see this person).

"Good morning, Lizzie," Draco Malfoy said and bowed his head. "Did you need something? I heard you screaming."

Hermione started laughing, "Cut the crap, Malfoy! What the hell did you do to me, and who the hell is Lizzie? I am Hermione Granger thank you very much so you must be in the wrong room if you are looking for someone named Lizzie! I know I look different, but you can still tell that it's me. And why the hell are you bowing your head to some 'Mudblood filth' like me? I told you to take me to Madam Pomfrey and if you would have listened I wouldn't be stuck at St. Mungos or wherever hospital I'm in. Are Harry and Ron coming for me? You had better have told them!" Hermione screeched.

"Stop it Lizzie, you know my name is Draco. You are a Pureblood wizard, and I brought you home. Why the hell would you be at St. Mungos if there was nothing wrong with you?" Draco said confused. Voldemort had said that the two year old girl was extremely smart and had known everyone in their immediate circles full names and addresses. She also was wearing locket full of memories of her parents at the time of her disappearance. Her initials E.V.E.R were written on the front of it. How could she not have told the Muggle family that she was taken in by who her parents were or even who his parents were?

"I'm Hermione Granger! I am not Lizzie. Stop, you are starting to freak me out! How about you insult me and everything goes back to normal?!" She suggested to Draco.

Hurt was shown through Draco's silver eyes, "You are not Hermione Granger, you are Elizabeth Victoria Evelyn Riddle. Now if you will please follow me." He motioned for her to follow him out the door.

"What makes you think I will go anywhere with you? Obviously, someone is off their rocker here and it sure as hell isn't me," Hermione stated thinking Draco probably had too much to drink or something.

"You will follow me because I am the one who has your wand. I believe with enough good behavior, you will get it back eventually," Draco said and smirked. If Hermione was going to be stubborn he was going to fight back.

"Give it back you git!" Hermione yelled.

"Not a chance, if you don't follow me," Draco said and started walking out of the door. Hermione had no choice but to obey him.

Draco led her down several hallways and down spiral staircases before he abruptly stopped at a large mahogany door. "Do not touch anything," Draco said and opened the door.

It was a large office that was painted emerald green there seemed to be Dark objects everywhere. There was a large desk in the middle of the room and a bookshelf full of particularly nasty Dark Arts spell books. There was a gigantic emerald dog bed in the corner and Hermione wondered what breed of dog would fit in that; unless the person had one bed for more than one dog. She was going to ask him but thought she heard someone talking:

_She shall be a sight to see won't she my pet?_

_Yesss Massster_

"Draco? Did you hear that? Who was talking?" Hermione asked.

"What are you talking about? No one said anything," Draco eyed her suspiciously.

"Yes, Draco someone was talking. I could hear it." He bowed his head. "What are you doing, Draco? Stop acting like an idiot. I mean, I know that since you are one it will be hard, but at least stand normal," Hermione said and rolled her eyes. Her back was facing the door.

She heard someone chuckling, and she whipped her head around to see where it was coming from.

Hermione's heart nearly stopped; at the door, it was none other than Lord Voldemort.


	3. The Dark Secret

It was not like Hermione to faint when she was scared or in danger, but once she noticed who was laughing she collapsed, into oblivion, at Draco's feet.

When Hermione woke up, someone was putting a wet rag over her head. She was only semiconscious, and didn't have the strength to fully awaken. "Her fever went up, Bella," she heard someone say, but she didn't know if she was dreaming or not. The whole seeing Voldemort thing was most likely a nightmare or a hallucination. Someone was stroking her cheek affectionately, and someone else was holding her hand. Hermione started turning restlessly trying to wake up fully, but she felt a bitter potion being forced into her mouth. Once, again she fell into unconsciousness.

O.o.O

Hermione awoke abruptly and sat up. The curtains were wide open on the bed she was laying in. Her heart sank and filled with dread when she realized she was in the same room that she thought she had dreamt. She noticed she was wearing different clothing than she was before. She was wearing a pair of Victoria's Secret yoga shorts and a loose pink Victoria's Secret T- shirt that revealed her stomach. Hermione felt very exposed, and wondered why she was wearing such inappropriate clothing.

"You're up I see. You have only been sleeping for like three days," Draco said and rolled his silver eyes.

Hermione squeaked and pulled the covers up to her neck. Her face turned crimson and embarrassment was apparent in her eyes. She had not realized anyone else was in the room, least of all Draco Malfoy.

"You don't have to be embarrassed," Draco said sweetly. "Who do you think dressed you anyways? I figured you would appreciate all of the Muggle stuff I picked out for you."

Hermione's eyes were filled with terror, "I hate you, and if you ever even think of taking my clothes off again I will hex you into oblivion!"

"Well, you see I don't really care what you think of me because you are just going to have to keep that to yourself soon, and you would need a wand first if you were going to hex me," Draco stated.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Malfoy? I can say I hate you until the world ends because I'm not afraid of what Voldemort and his stupid death eaters are going to do to me. You don't think I remembered did you? Yeah well, I'm shocked I'm not dead already. Why did he let me live, Malfoy?"

"All of the questions you have asked are not for me to tell you, if you don't know already," Draco said mysteriously. "Oh, and my name's Draco by the way."

"As if I didn't know what your name is," Hermione said sarcastically. She was utterly irritated with him. She got up out of the bed and walked to the bathroom.

O.o.O

Draco waited impatiently for her to hurry up. He heard a blood curdling scream come from the bathroom, and he ran into the bathroom.

"Why did you let them do this to me?" Hermione sobbed. "I didn't want to be… please take it off! What do they want me for? I am not going to do anything for them! Just kill me now and get it over with!"

"Stop, I'm not going to do anything, and as I said before it is not my place to tell you anything. It won't come off anyways," Draco said feeling sorry for her.

Hermione ran to the linen closet and grabbed a purple razor, "You leave me no choice." She said and sliced it sideways across the Dark Mark. Red sticky blood seeped out of the cut, and she bit her lip to keep from screaming out.

Draco lunged towards her and tried to grab it out of her hand, but she made several more fatal cuts before he just decided to grab her whole body. She slumped in his arms, and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. The razor fell out of her hands and her legs gave out from underneath her. She had lost a lot of blood.

O.o.O

Hermione awoke several hours later feeling extremely weak and drowsy. She looked down at the arm that had the Dark Mark and hoped it was messed up. To her surprise and dismay her arm was fully healed, the Dark Mark was intact and as dark as ever, and there weren't any scars or marks from cutting herself. She sighed and put her hand over her face.

"If you ever try something as stupid as that, again, you will be confined to a much more basic, prison- like room," Narcissa Malfoy said to Hermione, who did not notice anyone watching her.

"Kill me know then, that's what you are going to do anyways. I'd rather it be right now than prolonged. There is no way you can get me to talk. Harry and Dumbledore's strategies are more important than my life," Hermione said speaking with a wise tone. Narcissa seemed taken aback with how mature the girl was.

"Do not speak in despicable ways; no one is here to hurt you. You should know that Lizzie," Narcissa said. Hermione made no attempt to correct her. Maybe the Malfoys honestly had no clue who she was. She looked a lot different from that awkward bushy haired, brown eyed Hermione Granger. She also knew no one was going to hurt her until she decided not to talk, then it could happen at any time.

Hermione rolled over in bed trying to ignore Narcissa and fall asleep again. She would rather be asleep than be in the presence of a Death Eater. She didn't realize that, technically, she was one, too.

"Oh no, you haven't eaten in a few days. It's time you go eat dinner with us properly," Narcissa said and held up some clothes for her to wear. "I'll be out the door. When you are done changing just come outside, and we can go together."

Hermione's stomach growled and she realized she had no choice but to eat dinner with the Death Eaters. She slowly put on the black dress Narcissa Malfoy had picked out for her and slid her pair of black ballet flats on. She walked to the mirror on the dresser, and took a look at her refection. The dress looked absolutely stunning on her. It was strapless and ended just above her knees, and the tulle skirt bottom sparked like the night sky. The black satin sash was tied in a perfect bow, and the diamond headband she put on her head made her hair look like melted chocolate. Somehow the ringlet curls were intact; sleeping didn't make the curls look any less beautiful. Her blue eyes sparkled and looked lovely against the black dress. She had always wished she had blue eyes like her mother, Jean. Unfortunately, the Dark Mark on her arm ruined all the beauty.

Hermione put on a black sweater before she met Narcissa outside the door.

"Follow me, and do not lag far behind. It is quite easy to end up somewhere you don't want to. Oh, and please take that sweater off before we get into the dining room. It is very improper," Narcissa Malfoy said and started walking down the hall.

Hermione followed behind her and rolled her eyes. There was no way in hell that she cared what she looked like in front of all these stupid Death Eaters. The sweater was the only thing making her secure. She would hide the Dark Mark forever; at least until she got her wand back and figured out how to get it off. _If I can escape this hell hole in the first place_.

O.o.O

Hermione shuddered when she walked into the dining room. Crazy bitch, Bellatrix Lestrange was staring at her; she quickly looked down at the floor. _I'll miss you Harry and Ron_ she thought and mustered up all of her courage to face her enemies.

"Go on dear, pick what seat you want," Narcissa said gesturing to Hermione at one of the empty seats at the dining room table. Presently, Lord Voldemort was sitting at the head of the table and Draco, Lucius, and Bellatrix were waiting for her to pick what seat she wanted before sitting down themselves.

Hermione being the witty smart aleck that she was chose the farthest seat from Voldemort on his left hand side. After all there were about 40 seats on one side (82 altogether). She figured Bellatrix would sit by him, so it was like killing two birds with one stone. There was no way in hell she wanted to sit next to Crazy Bitch or Lord Avada Kedavra. Draco suppressed a smile at her attempts to defy their wishes. The adults were speechless.

"Oh, I'm sorry you did say I could pick _any_ chair, right? I mean I _suppose_ I could sit on that decorative one _all_ the way back in the corner of the other room, if that's what you wish," Hermione said pointing to a chair in another room.

"Yes," Voldemort said in distain and curiosity.

"Good, I'm glad we have all of that taken care of," Hermione said and smiled evilly. "Now if you would just do the honors and get it over with right now I would be much happier. See, I am going to turn around, and when you're ready you can say the magic words."

Hermione turned around in her chair and waited for what seemed like several minutes, "I said I'm ready. You can kill me know," she said holding her breath. She turned around, "Didn't you hear me? I said I'm ready."

Draco and Lord Voldemort were trying to hide their smiles. Bellatrix stared at Hermione in horror. Lucius and Narcissa look at her with a mixture of confusion and amusement.

"Stop being like that Liz," Draco said playfully and sat next to her at the edge of the table.

"Elizabeth, stop joking around you know he would never hurt you," Bellatrix scolded and put her hand on Hermione's wrist affectionately. She tore her arm out of Bella's grasp and stood up.

"What the hell is going on here?! Hermione screamed. "My name is Hermione Granger, and I don't know who Elizabeth, Lizzie, or Liz is, but I do know one thing that is for sure; if you are trying to do this as a way of getting me to tell you all of Harry Potter's secrets you are sorely mistaken! I would rather die one hundred times than betray him!"

_Sssilly girl. I've missssed you sssssso much Lissssie_. Nagini slithered over by her feet. Hermione stood up on the chair and, tried to ignore the massive snake without saying anything to it. The snake kept repeating what it was saying due to Voldemorts coaxing.

"Shut up, Nagini," Hermione whispered in Parseltongue but, Voldemort heard her anyways.

"I thought she would get you to slip up," Voldemort said disregarding Hermione's earlier protests, only focusing on her hidden talent. "Have you ever wondered why you can speak Parseltongue, the language of Salazar Slytherin? Why you looked nothing like your Muggle parents now and before? Why the Sorting Hat failed to Sort you quickly? How you managed to achieve Legilimency and Occlumency in such a short amount of time because we both know it has nothing to do with your intellect? No?"

"I… well none of that really matters. I'm just a special Muggle- born, I guess," Hermione said.

"No, Hermione. There is something you need to know, something that is important." Bellatrix said. "You see sixteen years ago I gave birth to a healthy baby girl, she had her father's aquamarine eyes and dark chocolate brown hair. We called her Ever, as in always and, decided E.V.E.R would be her initials; Elizabeth Victoria Evelyn Riddle. She grew to be a smart little toddler and memorized everything we told her to. When she was nearly two years old, Aurors raided this house. I fled with my baby but, Kingsley Shacklebolt found us and tore her from my arms. I was caught by another Auror and sent to Azkaban. Somehow she ended up at a Muggle family's house and was raised there. It was wonderful when Draco found her, after so many years after we had lost her. It seems to me that Kingsley had managed to Obliviate her after all."

Hermione's mouth was open and a look of terror passed over her face, "No… No, no, no…"

"Yes, my dear sweet Elizabeth, you are mine," Voldemort said.

O.o.O

Hermione hadn't run faster in her whole entire life. Tears poured from her eyes, blinding her. She had no idea where she was going until she found herself sitting on a balcony. She sat, and buried her face in her crossed arms. This couldn't be happening to her. What would she tell Harry? Heck, she couldn't even come to terms with it herself. There was no way she could be Tom Riddle's daughter. Things like this only happened in horror movies.

The tears were falling from her eyes rapidly, making her pale cheeks red. The wind made the tear trails cold; she was glad she decided to wear a sweater.

"Don't cry," Someone said sitting down next to Hermione. Strong arms enveloped her into a hug and, stroked her hair.

Hermione looked up and realized it was Draco who was trying to comfort her. She clung onto him and sobbed in his chest. He rubbed her back soothingly, whispering things like "Shhh" and "It's going to be ok." His attempts to comfort her only made her cry harder.

"Draco, this is a terrible joke…" She said and looked up at him. Her face was red and blotchy.

"It's not. Why would we lie to you? Lord Voldemort is your father; nothing can change that, love," Draco said.

"I hate my life! Obliviate me, then take me back to school! Please, I won't ever ask you for anything ever again! Please, Draco!" Hermione sobbed and grabbed onto his black suit jacket.

Draco shook his head sadly, "I would get in so much trouble, and you need to know before someone else figures it out. Dumbledore already suspects it's you. Accept it, and use it to your advantage, Hermione; I know you are smart enough to know what I mean."

"I will never come to terms with this!" Hermione screamed, "Do you know how I feel right now? Because, let me tell you it sucks! I feel betrayed and dirty and scared. What will everyone say, Draco? I'm not even going to be allowed into Hogwarts ever again! My friends aren't going to trust me, and I don't blame them; I wouldn't trust me either!"

Hermione sunk to her knees and curled into the fetal position. Her body convulsed in sobs. Tears streamed down her eyes.

Voldemort, Bellatrix, and Lucius came in the room and stood in the doorway to the balcony watching her cry and Draco attempting to comfort her. It would have been sweet if they had not known what their daughter was crying over.

"Get up and, stop crying, Lizzie," Voldemort said.

"I will never take orders from you!" Hermione screamed and continued to cry. Her body shook with how hard she was crying.

He went over to her and pulled her up to a standing position "See it's not that hard," He said in Parseltongue. Hermione tried to pull her wrists out of his hands but, when she realized her attempts weren't making a difference she let her legs collapse out from under her. Her sudden weight took Voldemort by surprise so he let her hang limp without letting go of her wrists.

"If you are not going to be reasonable, I shall force you to be," He said. Hermione purposely ignored him. "Fine, if that's how you want it."

He grabbed her waist and started dragging her out of the room.

"Draco! Draco! Help! No! Let me go!" Hermione screamed. She flailed her arms and kicked her legs against his body trying to make him let go of her. Voldemort tightened his grip.

Lucius held Draco back from helping her. She needed to have some alone time with her parents.

Voldemort dragged her out of the room followed by Bellatrix. She was still kicking and screaming. Suddenly her body froze and no words came out of her mouth.

"Nonverbal magic, maybe someday you will learn how to do it, from me," Voldemort said.

_No way in hell I'm learning anything from you_, Hermione thought and braced herself for what was to come.


	4. The Dark Party

They say that before you die your life flashes before your eyes; you relive all the memories that you have made throughout the years. Unfortunately for Hermione, she was far from dying, but that was pretty much what happened.

She remembered crying in the bathroom at what Ron had said about her and a big troll came in to get her. Harry and Ron ran in to save her and defeated the troll. It was from that moment on that she knew they would be best friends forever. Nothing would tear them apart.

When she turned into a cat Second year from putting Millicent Bulstode's cat hair in her Polyjuice Potion cup the boys helped her through everything. Even when she was petrified they did everything they could to kill the monster and help her out of her coma like state.

Third year was when she helped Harry save Buckbeak and Sirius from death and she remembered how happy she made him.

In fourth year, she tried to help Harry figure out some of the Triwizard Tournament Tasks. She never ended up giving him the right information, but it brought them together at long nights in the library.

Even though they were starting to grow apart, she still knew that their obvious dislike for Umbridge made them the same. Fifth year hadn't even been half way over anyways. Something dangerous and exciting was bound to happen. She knew it would have brought them together again.

Thinking about Harry and Ron brought a fresh wave of tears into her eyes. She would never be able to be friends with them again. Even if they could have made amends, they would want nothing to do with her now. Being the daughter of Harry's enemy, it would be terribly risky on his part if they were friends. She didn't expect him to trust her any longer.

Voldemort put Hermione on a bed, that wasn't the one that she was usually in and went into a door. Bellatrix followed.

Hermione couldn't believe her luck. She scrambled off the bed and ran out the door. She ran down several flights of stairs and down hallways that looked like they would lead to the main door out. Unfortunately, when she made it to the door it was magically locked somehow and, she didn't have her wand. She broke the nearest window with some heavy trinket like object on a table and climbed out of it.

Bellatrix came out of the room with picture books and vials of memories and Voldemort in Tom Riddle form came out holding a pensieve. Tom was furious that she had fled the room and scolded himself for not locking the door.

O.o.O

Hermione smiled as she ran across the yard. She would be able to escape after all. Once she got safely away she would go to Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley and wait until someone could get her back to school. Someone had to have noticed that she was missing. Perhaps they were already looking for her right now. She thought only of getting away and going back to school. She would deal with all of the people there later.

Her freedom was short lived, however. Lucius Malfoy and a Death Eater that she did not recognize suddenly appeared in front of her. They each grabbed one of her wrists and started walking towards the door. Hermione thrashed and kicked, trying to get away from them. Her body flailed as she screamed and fought.

"I'm sorry it has to come to this," Lucius Malfoy said. "_Stupefy_!"

Hermione's eyes rolled back in her head as she passed out and was carried back into the house.

O.o.O

Hermione woke up to someone singing to her and stroking her head. It took all her strength just to open her eyes and the light was blinding so, she shut them just as fast as she opened them. All of her muscles ached and her arms felt like lead as she tried to pull the blankets off. Someone gently pushed her shoulders back on the pillow and pulled the blanket back up to her neck. She instantly felt better lying there cozy than trying to get up and move around. She dozed off and wondered how many times she had passed out these past couple of days.

When she awoke again there was no one in her room and she felt considerably better; her body still ached but, it was bearable. She had no idea what time it was so, she figured a nice hot bath would make her feel better.

She turned the water on in the gigantic tub and waited for it to fill up all the way. It was every girls dream bathtub and she almost felt lucky for a second, but then remembered her current nightmare. She randomly selected a green bubble bath knob and the whole tub filled with apple scented bubbles. She took the dress she was wearing off and walked into the tub.

She washed her hair with raspberry scented shampoo and conditioner, then sat on one of the seats and let the water relax her confused mind. She sat there for quite some time before finally getting out and draining the water. She put on a pair of underwear and a fluffy emerald green bathrobe she found folded on the counter (which was odd because they were not there before) and walked over to the large mirror. Hermione sighed as she sat there staring at herself. She rubbed the foggy mirror to see her reflection clearer. She still looked like Hermione Granger for the most part. She could have just dyed her hair, put blue contacts in, and stayed inside the rest of her life and no one would notice much of a difference.

She started singing as she brushed her hair with a brush she found in the linen closet. She sang songs that inspired her in Muggle children's movies like songs from _Tangled_, _Lemonade Mouth, Brave, and The Hannah Montana Movie_. She loved all those Disney movies and thought the songs always created a positive message. Her real Mum, Jean Granger, used to watch them with her over holidays and summer break. They always had so much fun together.

"_She's so gone_

_That's so over now_

_She's so gone_

_You won't find her around_

_You can look but you won't see_

_The girl I used to be_

'_Cause she's_

_She's so gone_"

Hermione closed her eyes as she sang and tears slipped down her cheeks. Life as Hermione Granger was over as she knew it.

A few curious house elves sat around her, listening to her sing the same chorus over and over again. Many of them had never heard such a beautiful voice before. It brought hope to their miserable lives.

When Hermione opened her eyes she saw dozens of eyes of all different colors staring at her. She jumped in fright, not knowing that anyone was paying attention to her. The elves looked worn down and beat up. They were wearing rags that could never pass for real garments; most likely, their coverings were old pillow cases or potato sacks. She was disgusted by the way they were treated and her heart fell.

"Sorry Mistress. Wes didn't mean to scare you. You have such a wonderful voice," A house elf with bright blue eyes said.

"No, it's fine. Thank you for laying out a bathrobe for me. What was your name, again?"

"I'm Hattie sweet, innocent Mistress. Sees? I told yous she was going to be a caring Mistress," Hattie said to the other house elves. They nodded in appreciation at Hermione. "Will you keep singing Mistress?"

Hermione smiled and started singing in the best voice that she could manage. The poor abused house elves needed a little sunshine in their lives.

O.o.O

Draco went into Hermione's room to see if she had awoken. It truly pained him to see even the best of people could wither at the hands of darkness; it could break through the strongest will and obliterate the tallest mountain. Even though they were enemies, he felt for her. He was forced into taking the Dark Mark or face Voldemort's wrath. Although, at least he knew it was coming since the second he returned. Hermione never knew she was also predestined at birth to receive it, too.

He knocked on her bedroom door, not expecting her to answer. He waited there for a few seconds before going inside her room.

"Gra- Lizzie (he had specific orders never to call her anything relating to Hermione Granger)? Are you awake?" He called. When she didn't answer he went over and looked in her bed; it was empty. Then he heard noises coming from her bathroom and went to investigate.

Draco opened the door and peeked through the opening. What he saw would have been laughable if he wasn't intently listening to Hermione sing happily. She looked like the same care free Granger he used to know.

Hermione was dancing and twirling random house elves around while she sang a parody of one of the songs from _Tangled_:

"I've got a dream

I've got a dream

I just want to get out of this hell hole before I scream

And with every passing hour

I just want to go back to Gryffindor tower

Like all you lovely elves I've got a dream,"

Hermione shook her hips and spun around. She danced with house elves and dipped them.

"I'd even give anything to see Slytherin green!" She sang and twirled.

"Well, it's your lucky day then," Draco barged into the bathroom smirking. He motioned at the Slytherin robes he was wearing.

She stopped singing immediately and wrapped her arms around her chest (she was embarrassed just wearing a bathrobe), looking furious. Hermione was expecting him to make fun of her.

"Where did you learn how to sing?" he asked curiously, ignoring all the house elves staring at him.

Hermione was taken aback about how civil he was being. The Draco she knew before would have never let her live this moment down. "I, um, I have always been able to sing alright. My mother signed me up for after school choir when I was in Elementary School, and I was in it until I went into Hogwarts. I don't normally tell people about my ability to sing. You were probably the first person in a long time to hear me sing solo."

"It would help if you spoke in English. I'm assuming a choir is like a singing class or something?"

Hermione nodded. "Why are you wearing your robes?"

"Students at Hogwarts always wear their robes, duh! Why are you wearing a bath robe?" Draco said and rolled his eyes.

"You- you mean that you are still going to school? I- I thought you would- would have quit. You are allowed to go?" Hermione's voice trembled, tears threatened to fall down her cheeks. She wanted to go back to Hogwarts more than anything else in the world. She would give everything she had just to erase the time she spent at Riddle Manor. "Are Harry and Ron ok? Is anyone worried about me? How long has it been since, I have been abducted? Dumbledore will kick your sorry arses when he finds out what you and your stupid band of Death Eaters have done to me!"

"Slow down before you hurt yourself. Yes, I am still going to school; I have been going since the day you came here, you have just been too busy passing out to notice. I would gladly trade places with you, though. Harry and Ron are as stupid as ever, and although I try to ignore them as much as possible Weasley is a blubbering baby and Potter is trying to be the hero and is attempting to break out of the school to try and find you. We Slytherins could care less about what happened to "Hermione Granger" but, the others are depressed. Dumbledore hasn't said a word about your disappearance, but it's been about a week. Rumors started developing the second day you weren't found. Oh, sorry to rain on your parade but, Lizzie _dear_ I wouldn't be a hypocrite; after all, you seemed to have joined our parade of Death Eaters and they have been very hospitable with you, as have I." Draco said with a smirk on his face.

Hermione was shaking with fury, "Don't you ever call me Liz, Lizzie, or anything else that isn't a nickname of Hermione! Do you know how much I frickin' want to go to sleep and never wake up? Do you know how confused and disgusted I am with myself? How much I miss Hogwarts and your nasty insults? How much I miss being able to do magic? I can't take it anymore! My whole world is falling apart. Even you are acting different!"

Hermione started hitting him and punching his chest. He let her take all her anger out on him. Tears cascaded down her cheeks and her hands started faltering. Draco grabbed her wrists then, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in close to him. Hermione relaxed and hugged him back. She laid her head on his shoulder and began to cry.

"Draco…" she whimpered

"Shh, it's ok," Draco hushed her and rubbed her back soothingly. "Everything will be fine. It may not seem like it now, but it will get better. People change, things go wrong, stuff will happen, but life goes on."

"When did you become such a poet?" She asked quietly and cracked a smile.

"I've always been like that; thinking of things the way they are. You don't know anything about me," Draco said quietly. "I'm sorry I can't help you."

Hermione stared at him in confusion, "Why are you being nice to me?"

"I don't have to be mean to you anymore and well… it's not important right now," he said.

"Draco, please tell me… I can't handle any more secrets," Hermione said, her head still on his shoulder.

Just then, Bellatrix stormed into the room. "Draco, I gave you specific instructions-" she stopped as she saw them hugging. A wide grin appeared on her face.

Hermione looked horrified and, her cheeks became red in embarrassment. She pulled away from Draco and frowned.

"I will be going now," Draco said and bowed his head at Bellatrix. He quickly walked out of the bathroom

Hermione suddenly became very nervous as Draco left. She felt strong with him. Now she felt scared and defenseless as Bellatrix walked towards her.

"Lizzie, sweetie…" she said and caressed Hermione's cheek. Hermione flinched as Bellatrix touched her. Pain was shown in her mother's eyes. "I love you, so much. Can't you try to make the effort to remember?"

"I… you've killed people, people that were good and innocent. Never in a million years will I come to terms with this. I can never be the girl you want me to be. I will not kill for pure enjoyment or just because someone is a Muggle or Muggle- born wizard. I'm never going to treat house elves like scum, and I am sure as hell not going to turn against my friends. We are on two different sides, and I hope Harry Potter will defeat the sick bastard you claim to be my father, in the end. So, no; I am not going to try and make an effort," Hermione said confidently.

Bellatrix slapped Hermione in the face extremely hard and she dropped to the floor, "If you ever think you can speak that way to me again, you are clearly mistaken. I will not tolerate this behavior any longer, and you will be punished if you ever say any hateful things toward any Death Eater; especially your father! Elizabeth, you are on our side now; there is nothing you can do to change that. Until, you learn to behave yourself, you will not be allowed to leave the house or use a wand."

"I have been _Crucioed_ before. I am not scared of what you could do to me," Hermione said defiantly.

"No? Well, I'm sure other punishments could be arranged. How about we go massacre a town or better yet take a trip to the Weasley's house. I'm sure we could manage to at least get one of them," Bellatrix said with an evil glint in her eyes. "Now get into your closet and pick out something suitable to wear, nothing casual."

Hermione stared at her in fear as she stood up and willed herself not to cry for the millionth time that day.

Bellatrix waved her wand and muttered a drying spell on Hermione's still dripping hair as she walked towards the closet following her daughter, "I'm sorry, sweetie hopefully you'll get your wand soon enough."

Hermione's head dropped and she didn't say a word. It wasn't worth it.

"How about this one?" Bellatrix asked Hermione after she showed no interest of picking out an outfit. It was a purple dress that was beautiful, but it looked a little too revealing on the hanger. Hermione shook her head. "Well, you'll never know unless you try them on."

Bellatrix magically dressed Hermione in a gray cashmere dress and immediately shook her head. Hermione thought it looked good but, didn't have a chance to say anything because she was already in another dress. It was powder blue and the skirt flowed prettily. Hermione liked that one, too but, it seemed like she didn't get a choice in the matter. Bellatrix kept changing the dresses at an alarming rate; Hermione had begun to lose count with how many she tried on.

"This is the one," Bellatrix said and smiled.

Hermione looked in the mirror and what she saw made her gasp. She was gorgeous beyond belief. Bella had finally decided on a silk emerald green snug fitting cocktail dress with real emeralds arranged in intricate swirls on the skirt. The sash was all full with real emeralds and the top had the same swirly emerald design. Her hair was perfectly curled and spiraled down to her mid-back. Bellatrix placed a small diamond and emerald tiara on her head and huge diamond stud earrings in her ears. Somehow, she had sparkly eye shadow on, black eyeliner, and black mascara on her eyes.

"Now you look beautiful," Bellatrix said. Hermione was too in awe to respond harshly. "Now, since you were sleeping, we have decided to throw you a welcoming ball. Do not act inappropriately, or there will be consequences."

"What?!" Hermione shouted. "I don't want to go to a stupid welcoming ball! I'm not good at those types of things in the first place! Who came up with this stupid idea? I'm not going to know anyone!"

"Stop it; of course you'll know people, dear. Pansy, Blaise, Daphne, Astoria, Vincent, Millicent, Gregory, Marcus, and all their siblings will be there. There are a few more children a bit younger or older than you, too; I'm sure you'll get along quite nicely with them. Oh, and don't forget Draco," Bellatrix said and smiled.

Hermione put her hands on her face and Bellatrix put a hand on her shoulder. Hermione shrugged it off and walked to the opposite side of the room, muttering to herself. She grabbed a random black sweater of a hanger and pulled it over her exposed arms.

"Elizabeth don't you dare walk away from me young lady, and take that ridiculous sweater off; you can't possibly need it for anything," Bella said. Hermione didn't turn around or take the sweater off. "I am your mother and if you don't face me and take that sweater off I'll-"

"You'll do what? Kill me? Because that's all right with me. You are not my mother! My mother is Jean Granger, the woman who I've grown up with, a woman who loves me because I'm me. If you were my mother you would care about what I wanted! You wouldn't have forced me to abandon everything I care about and everyone I love! You would have been ok with me choosing the other side, and would not have forced me to choose the Dark Mark! If you were really my mother you wouldn't have chosen to let me go in the first place!" Hermione screamed frustrated at the whole situation.

"Liz-,"

"My name is Hermione Granger, you bitch!" Hermione said and bolted out of the room, kicking off her heels before she left.

O.o.O

She ran as fast as she could and knew it was only a matter of moments before she would feel the wrath of Bellatrix Lestrange. You couldn't blame a girl for trying, right? To be honest she had never been _Crucioed_ before, but she had seen it done and had read about how painful it was in books. What Bellatrix didn't know couldn't kill her.

Yet, she ran until she came to a set of double doors that were as big as the wall. There was no other way to go besides through the doors so she opened them quickly and scrambled inside. She shut the doors as quick as she came in and people started cheering.

Hermione turned around and her stomach dropped in fear. She had crashed her own party.


	5. The Dark Spell

Hermione let out a choked sob of despair. It would be just her luck to crash Elizabeth Riddle's returning to the wizarding world party; the one place that she didn't want to be. Her eyes scanned the enormous ballroom; black and green balloons were bewitched to float all over the ceiling. A large buffet table was filled with every type of food imaginable. There were silver drink fountains in the corners of the room, green decorations on the walls, and a large pile of presents on a table. No windows were visible; if there even were windows. House elves cleaned and served the guests. People were dancing to music from a wizard DJ or sitting at green silk tableclothed tables around the perimeter of the room talking or eating.

Her stomach was doing flip flops as she scanned the crowd. Most of the people were escaped prisoners from Azkaban, people she tried to steer clear away from, or children of those people. She didn't recognize anyone whom she had ever had a pleasant conversation with. Everyone who had exposed arms (except for those under sixteen) was sporting a Dark Mark tattoo. She thought it may be easier if she just turned around and escaped but, she was frozen in terror; defenseless against her enemies without a wand.

Soon all eyes were on her, staring. Her heart pounded against her chest rapidly and her bare feet stood rooted to the spot she was standing in. As she opened her mouth to say something unintelligent, all of the people started clapping and shouting in favor of her. She would have laughed if she had her wand and wasn't so terrified and shocked at her current situation. When the clapping died down, she didn't know what to do; the people were staring at her expectantly as if waiting for her to say something.

Draco Malfoy ran up to her and grabbed her arm trying to escort her down the few steps into the ballroom. Hermione sent a silent thanks with her eyes and grabbed his arm in return; almost as if she was holding on for dear life.

"They are expecting you to say something about helping to defeat Harry Potter with your father. Oh, and you are hurting my arm by the way," Draco whispered to her as they walked. Hermione loosened her grip, slightly.

"They are going to be disappointed; I'm not giving any speeches. I won't pretend I'm happy, and I definitely won't be afraid to go against everyone's prejudiced beliefs," Hermione whispered back.

"Oh, come on, you have probably been practicing motivational speeches every night before bed. Hell, you probably have your valedictorian speech already figured out," Draco said rolling his eyes. Pain and hurt showed in Hermione's.

"I did… but, I suppose it- it doesn't matter any-anymore," she said trying to hold back tears. "You've gotten all you have ever wanted though… to finally beat me at school."

"I'm sorry, don't cry," Draco said squeezing her arm before letting it go. They had made it to the edge of the dance floor and, he was about to go find his parents.

"Please, don't leave me," Hermione said childlike. Fear flashed through her eyes as people tried to swarm around her. Draco took her hand reassuringly. Adults were bowing and the children were all smiling, waiting for her to talk to them so they could befriend her. Hermione forced a smile onto her face and Draco politely led her through the crowd.

They sat down next to each other at the Head table. Voldemort was a few seats down the row.

"Thanks… for everything," Hermione said letting the fear escape from her body. She traced her finger along a seam on her dress. She, still, had not taken off the sweater Bellatrix demanded she take off.

"Yeah, um, no problem, I guess. I know how miserable you are but, I would willingly trade places if I could. School sucks right now. Your friends are as unbearable as ever without you and, Gryffindor is negative two thousand house points because of them; just in case you were wondering and, not like I care. Weasley has had to have been in detention every day this week and Potter freaks out and is unstable. Neither of them does any work, and they have already created four explosions in Potions."

"I knew they couldn't handle it without me… I need to, they need to… I need to fix this somehow…" Hermione said.

Draco nodded and gave her a look of sympathy, not knowing what to say. None of this was her fault but, being the person she was, she thought she needed to help everyone on her own. He took her hand and squeezed it giving her an implied 'it's going to be ok.' Hermione remained quiet, gazing into the crowd of people.

"Elizabeth, you are being incredibly rude. Please go greet some of our friends and guests; they have been waiting to meet you for a while now. Take that sweater off; it looks ridiculous over that lovely dress! Where is your mother? She was supposed to come down here with you." Voldemort said, talking to Hermione from a few seats down.

"First of all, I don't have any friends here! I don't even know half of them and the rest I recognize as criminals! Even Draco hasn't truly been one of my friends!" Hermione nearly screamed. A look of hurt passed through Draco's eyes, but it was gone in an instant; he knew it was true and he had been nothing but mean to her before. "Second of all, I will not take this damn sweater off! I am my own person and can wear whatever I want, thank you very much. As for my mother… well, I suppose she is with my father, at home, wondering what happened to their daughter. Perhaps, if Dumbledore hasn't told them I am missing yet, they are at work, content and happy, waiting for me to Owl them some of my accomplishments."

Voldemort's eyes were full of rage and he probably would have slapped or hexed Hermione if no one was there besides Draco. Hermione's eyes were tear brimmed, waiting to spill over, but not because she was scared or sorry for what she said. She missed school, her friends, and her family. Sometimes she wished all the stress of everything would go away, but now she wanted it to come back more than anything.

Draco, noticing all of this emotion, tugged on Hermione's hand as he stood up. She looked at him in confusion but then got the message. She stood up and he led her to the dance floor.

Once they were safely away from Voldemort Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco and started crying silently. He rubbed soothing circles on her back, trying to calm her down. People stared at the two of them in wonder (most of the adults), happiness (most of the Death Eaters who were older with no children, and jealousy (children who were close to their ages or parents who had kids and wanted them married into one of the two most prominent Death Eater families).

"Thank you… for everything. I don't know how I would even be able to survive if you… well if you were still mean to me… like before," She whispered, tears slid down her rosy cheeks; surprisingly her make up wasn't running so, she assumed it was because of the magic used to apply it.

Draco brushed Hermione's tears away with his thumb, "I'm sorry… for everything. Would it help if you do my Transfiguration and Charms homework?"

Hermione smiled a real smile for the first time since she was held at Riddle Manor against her will. "Draco, you know if you don't do your homework you will never learn anything! I don't want to be responsible for you not knowing anything! But, yeah, it would help if you let me do it. You have your notes and textbooks right?"

Draco chuckled, "Of course I brought all my stuff; it is the first day of Christmas break after all you little bookworm homework lover. You'll get to see my house on Christmas day in a week, so you will get to see a change of scenery. Most of my stuff is half finished, so you'll get the idea of how I normally do my work."

"It's already Christmas break? I've always gone home… what was my excuse for not going home?"

"Yes, and I don't know. I am in Slytherin, so it's kind of hard to see what the Gryffindor students say unless someone eavesdrops on them. Most of the time, they are in their dorms or nowhere to be found. But, don't worry about them right now, everyone's fine- you are technically fine and no one will kill you here."

"I know… it's just hard to grasp the situation fully. I'm not emotionally fine," Hermione said.

Draco took her hand and dragged her to the middle of the dance floor, "Will you have this dance with me?"

Hermione's eyes went wide, "Um, I really don't dance and everyone is watching us…"

"Sure you can; I saw you at the Yule Ball last year. Pretend like we are the only ones here; it will make you forget everything, too," Draco said and grabbed her waist. Hermione tensed up and reluctantly put her hands on his shoulder.

"Relax. It's just you and I, remember?" Draco said noticing Hermione's discomfort with the people that stopped dancing and were staring at them.

Hermione closed her eyes and nodded. They started slow dancing at first but, soon they were spinning and he was twirling her around. He dipped her and continued dancing. She felt content being there with him, without a care in the world. She didn't notice they were practically the only ones dancing and all eyes were on them. To her, the silver eyed boy in front of her was the only thing she was focusing on. She was so absorbed on only thinking about him she didn't notice an enraged Bellatrix storm into the ballroom and go straight to Voldemort.

O.o.O

Bellatrix Apparated into every room on the floor of Hermione's bedroom and then, tore the rooms apart looking for her. After no luck, she sent the whole staff of elves (who were not in the ballroom) to search the house and find Hermione and tell her where her daughter was.

After about thirty minutes, a house elf reported back to her that the young Mistress Riddle was in the ballroom with young Master Malfoy. Bellatrix Apparated to the ballroom as soon as she heard. Once, she got into the ballroom she stormed to Voldemort.

"Where were you, Bella?" Voldemort said looking angry.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner; I was looking for our daughter who ran away from me," Bella spat. She looked as if she was about to _Crucio_ someone (which she probably would have done if there were people there other than Death Eaters and their families).

"She needs to be taught a lesson. That mouth of hers needs to stop running; no one has been so disrespectful to her own family who were nothing but generous and accepting towards her. If she wants to act like a dog then the only thing left to do is put her on a leash."

Bellatrix nodded in agreement, "After the party?"

"Yes after the party," Voldemort said watching Draco and Hermione closely as they danced.

O.o.O

"You, need to eat something. You have not eaten in a week since, not since you cut yourself and got sick. Some house elves spoon fed you then. How could you not be hungry?" Draco said concerned.

"I don't know. I'm just not; I can't even think of stomaching to eat something right now," Hermione said as he led her to an empty table.

"Draco! Elizabeth!" Someone squealed.

Hermione looked up and saw the group of Slytherins that were in their year at Hogwarts. Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, Millicent, and a girl named Daphne Greengrass who was in sixth year came and sat down on the empty chairs at the table. Hermione felt like she was going to throw up.

"Hi, I'm Daphne Greengrass," the girl who had squealed said.

"I'm Pansy Parkinson! I totally love that dress!"

"Hi, um, yeah I know who all of you are. I, um, went to Hogwarts before I, um, got pulled out," Hermione said nervously not knowing how to talk to her former enemies.

"Must, be nice to leave that dumb place and that old imbecile, Dumbledore. Your dad must be teaching you loads of Dark spells, right? Planning a double bout of the Killing Curse on Potter? Gosh, you are so lucky!" Crabbe said.

"Um, actually I haven't-" Hermione was cut off by Draco nudging her shoulder.

"Right, um, how about some food now?"

"Yeah, I'm starving!" Crabbe and Goyle said at the same time. Everyone rolled their eyes. It wasn't that much of a shocker that they were hungry.

Hermione got up and headed to the buffet table. She grabbed a plate and got in line behind some house elves, taking food as they moved along.

When she came back everyone was staring at her. "What?"

"You do realize that the house elves are supposed to take your order and get you the food?" Pansy said skeptically.

"I am perfectly capable of getting the food myself," Draco gave her a look of warning. "Because, I don't want them to mess my order up."

"That's the fun part. If they mess up your order they will start hitting themselves or something like that," Goyle said, his mouth full of food.

Hermione was disgusted, not only with Goyle's full mouth, but the way they viewed themselves superior to house elves.

Unfortunately, the party dragged on for several more hours, leaving Hermione more uncomfortable and disgusted then the last hour. Finally, the guests started to leave one family after the other until, only the Malfoys were left.

"Draco, come along, dear," Narcissa Malfoy said to Draco trying to lead him out of the ballroom. He gave Hermione a look of sympathy as she dragged him away. Lucius Malfoy followed his wife and did not even look at her.

Hermione's heart pounded in her chest when she was left alone with Voldemort and Bellatrix, with no wand and nowhere to run.

"Do you have anything to say, Lizzie?" Bellatrix asked her. Hermione shook her head and looked at her bare feet. Surprisingly, they were painted a pretty reddish pink color.

A diamond and emerald bracelet appeared on her wrist and her feet collapsed underneath her. She put her hands out and broke the fall, her body feeling weak and heavy. Soon, pain was shooting up her muscles and into her chest. It started becoming unbearable and she cried out. She started sobbing and her body writhed uncontrollably. It felt as if her blood was on fire, times 1000. It was far worse than being _Crucioed._ Her screaming echoed throughout the ballroom, becoming increasingly louder each second that passed by. She started throwing up blood. Once there was a significant pool around her, the pain instantly receded.

Her vision was blurry and her body felt like she had been hit by a truck several times. She could barely even move a finger let alone sit up. Hermione felt herself being lifted up into the air and she muttered something that was not understandable. Before she knew it she fell unconscious in the person's arms.

O.o.O

When Hermione awoke she felt terrible. Her mouth was parched and her throat was sore. Her body was so weak that she could barely even move her fingers. It felt like someone pounded her head like a drum. The bracelet weighed down her wrist; she tried to wriggle it off but, it was too tight around it.

Tears fell from her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She didn't know why she was crying; maybe from the pain or just the whole situation she was forced into. Soon she was sobbing and hiccupping.

Someone came in the room and sat on her bed. The person patted her head and wiped the tears off her cheeks. Hermione opened her eyes and looked at the face of Draco Malfoy.

"What did they do to me?" she asked, still crying.

"Shhh, don't cry; it's going to be ok. Well, they um… it's kind of a new spell the Dark Lord made up. The bracelet you are wearing is a tracking device and kind of like a shock collar, for a dog. It heats your magic and, since you are a Pureblood it is a worse sensation. It's sort of like _Crucio,_ but with lasting effects," Draco said.

"Voldemort is not a Pureblood though…" Hermione said sniffling.

"Yeah he is; it's been looked into. His father was a Squib from a Pureblood family. They gave him up to a Muggle adoption center when he was born because Squibs are disgraces to the family. Don't mention that I said this,"

"Oh… well… no one has ever… Dumbledore doesn't know this," Hermione said.

"No one knows but Death Eaters and people who actually knew Tom Riddle I's birth parents; but even Voldemort doesn't know who his grandparents on his father's side are,"

"They are not going to get me to obey them by hurting me; I'm stronger than that. They are pretty much out of luck when it comes to me deciding to go to the 'Dark Side.'" Hermione said a little afraid of what they would do to her, but knowing they wouldn't kill her just yet.

"Maybe it's in your best interest to obey them; I'm not saying to go be all lovey dovey with them but, I think you should be civil… really please listen to what I'm saying," Draco said concerned.

"Really Draco? I'm not going to be a puppet; I've just experienced too much of Harry's side, and I think that's the better option. I can't believe you would say that; I thought you wanted me to be strong and ignore everything!" Hermione said annoyed at what he said.

"Unlike you, I hear things. Soon you won't have any choice, but to obey,"

"Are you saying they are going to_ Imperius_ me, Draco?" Hermione said starting to get scared.

"No, worse… Or at least that's just my opinion," Draco sighed.

"What could be worse than the Imperius Curse, other than the Killing Curse?" Hermione asked.

"At least if you were_ Imperiused_ you would still be able to remember things, and you could try to fight it off."

"I'm aware of what happens when you are put on that curse but, you didn't answer my question!" Hermione nearly shouted, exasperated and a little scared.

"How would you like it if you woke up one morning only remembering that you are the daughter of a powerful Pureblood wizard and the only thing you hate more than Muggle- Borns is Harry Potter and his stupid sidekick Ronald Weasley? Does that put it into perspective for you?"

Hermione's already pale face turned ghostly white. "If you know this, they are going to _Obliviate_ me anyways aren't they?"

Draco looked at the ground, "Yes… if you don't listen to me, it will be sooner rather than later though."

"Why prolong the inevitable then?" Hermione said, struggling to sit up. "Help me up won't you?"

"You aren't well enough to get up yet. Don't tell me you are trying to pick a fight with Bellatrix and Voldemort," Draco said. Hermione sighed and started playing with the embroidery on her comforter. "That's what you are going to do, aren't you?"

"Listen, you don't understand. I can't ever pretend to love them or even tolerate them for that matter. They are going to do it anyways because they are not going to let me go. I'd rather be happy…" Hermione said and started to cry. "I have to do this…"

"You don't have to! I don't know why you have to be so stupid!" Draco shouted and shook his head. "But I suppose if you decide to challenge them this is the least I can do."

Draco muttered a healing spell over Hermione. The weakness and pain faded somewhat and, she was able sit up. He started walking to the door. As he opened it, he looked at her and was about to say something but, he changed his mind and slipped out quietly.

Hermione sighed and reluctantly tried to get off the bed to stand up. Her legs were shaky but, she didn't care. She stumbled into the closet, deciding once she fully became Elizabeth Riddle she would want to look good. She picked out a pink strapless silk dress that only went down to her mid-thigh, something Hermione Granger would never wear, and walked out of the bedroom.

As she walked she heard the sound of someone playing the piano and followed the sound of the music into a room with a grand piano. She watched the person play in the doorway as not to disturb him. When he was done with that song she went over and sat on the edge of the bench with him.

"Since when do you play piano, Draco?" Hermione said curiously. He looked at her with his silver orbs, staring at her body. She looked beautiful and very un-Hermionelike.

"Don't stop. It's just weird; even Muggles have pianos that can play songs by themselves. I just thought you would use magic to play it, that's all," Hermione said.

"It doesn't come from your heart if you use magic…" Draco said and started to play again.

Hermione watched him in awe as he struck the keys with no effort, barely even looking at them. He could become the next great piano player if he really wanted to; it made her kind of sad that the talent given to him was going to be wasted in the long run. Without knowing what she was doing, she began to sing to the pretty melody of the piano.

As she sang, she noticed Draco intently staring at her and immediately stopped.

"Don't stop; you are a beautiful singer," Draco said as he continued to play.

Hermione began to sing again. Her brain was thinking of other things and, before she knew it tears streamed down her eyes.

Draco stopped playing and wrapped his arms around her, "You don't have to do this, not yet anyways." Hermione cried into his shoulder.

"I have to! I don't want to forget more than I have to!" Hermione sobbed.

Draco looked at her confused, "Why does it matter? You won't remember being best friends with Harry or Ron anyways. Everything that has and will happen to you here is worth forgetting about."

"No… it's not about Harry or Ron. I… Draco…"

"What-" Draco started but was caught off guard by Hermione's soft lips on his. He kissed her back gently but, her kiss was desperate and scared. She pulled away quickly and Draco longed for her to kiss him again.

"I don't want to forget falling for you more than I already have," Hermione said sadly and hurried out of the room.

"Hermione, wait!" Draco shouted running to the door. He looked down the long hallway but, she was nowhere to be seen. He noticed his wand was missing from the pocket in his silk suit jacket and he began to feel sick.

O.o.O

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she heard Draco call her the name she had always known; the name that he had never called her. She found a house elf to lead her to Bellatrix and Voldemort and her heart ached as she walked down the hallways to her doom. She disintegrated the bracelet around her wrist with Draco's wand and hid it behind her back. It felt wonderful to use magic again; even though it felt ten times better using her own wand.

Soon the house elf stopped in front of a large black door. "The Master and Mistress Riddle are in there, Mistress, with their friends," the poor house elf squeaked.

Hermione suddenly got scared but, tried to ignore it. She bent down and hugged the house elf. "No matter what happens to me after this, I respect all house elves, and I'm sorry if I ever suddenly treat you guys like garbage. Please tell this to all the house elves who hate being here."

"Jinky will Mistress!" the house elf said and hurried away.

Hermione bit her lip as she raised the wand at the door and blew it into a million pieces. She stepped into the room and stood face to face with several confused and angry Death Eaters and Voldemort, who looked like he was about to kill her.

"What are you doing in here?" Voldemort said, his voice dripping with malice. "Where did you get the wand?"

"I hate this! I hate living here and not being able to use MY wand; I had to steal it! I will never be the person you want me to be! I will keep fighting for as long as I am held here against my will! I hope you all rot in Azkaban for what you have done to innocent people! I hope you all get the Dementor's Kiss and have to live with the eternal emptiness, wondering what the hell made you want to follow this crazy lunatic!" Hermione shouted pointing to Voldemort.

The Death Eaters stared back at her in confusion wondering what happened to make her go against her father; others thought they saw a resemblance between her and Harry Potter's smart Mudblood and clutched their wands. Voldemort stared at her in shock for a few seconds before anger flashed in his eyes. He slapped her in the face, and she stumbled slightly.

A wide grin broke out in Hermione's face; blood dripping from her lip. "You sadistic arse," she said and laughed. Voldemort pointed his wand at her. She didn't move.

"Go on, are you too much of a coward now? I'm still that Muggle born girl at heart. One more life surely won't make a difference, considering all the ones you have taken so far,"

"Oblivi-" Voldemort shouted but, then was interrupted by Draco shouting.

Hermione's eyes lit up at the sight of him but, then got scared.

"Draco, I love you, as Hermione. Tell Harry and Ron I am sorry and I'll remember eventually!" Hermione shouted quickly.

"Obliviate!" Voldemort shouted.

Hermione stumbled back; her eyes rolled in the back of her head. Draco caught her in his arms before she fell on the floor. A single tear fell down his cheek as he looked at her peaceful expression. He kissed the top of her pale head and caressed her cheek gently.

"I love you too, Hermione," he whispered quietly. "I will do anything to help you remember the person you were."

**THE END**

**Please Review and Favorite. I may possibly continue on if I get several reviews begging me to continue.**


	6. Author's Note

Sorry this isn't a chapter, but thank you for notifying me that Chapter 4 was actually Chapter 1 reposted. The problem is fixed, and you can go read it.

This story was supposed to be a one shot, but I broke it down into multiple chapters. I know that most of the people who reviewed want me to continue on or post a sequel, although I don't really know how I would go about doing that. If you have an idea, write it in a review or PM me.

Thank you!


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